1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information retrieval system, which enables to search for personal information with ease on the basis of information, sound, or image relating to personal words and conducts.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conference or meeting, when people meet for the first time, personal information is often exchanged by means of name card or business card to let each other know the name, position, division, and contact address. Then, the information relating to the conference is written in a memo and maintained and managed in association with the name card or the like. This is to supplement the personal information written on the name card and the information on the conference so that the management and search for the personal information and the information on the conference may be facilitated.
The name card, however, is easily lost or damaged. Therefore, the personal information needs to be managed electronically. As an information system that can exchange, manage, and search for electronic personal information, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-58069 describes an electronic name card exchange technique, whereby personal information is electronically exchanged by a mobile terminal.
It is to be noted that the information relating to the conference cannot be managed by the electronic name card only. Therefore, the personal information and the information on the conference have to be electronically supplemented by each other so as to facilitate the management of the personal information and the information on the conference. As an information management system that enables to store, manage, and search as described above, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-99675 describes a technique of storing and managing the electronic name cards in association with the information on the conference or the like, and displaying the electronic name card as a search result together with the information on the conference and the name cards of the conference participants.
In the above-described information management system, the personal information can be searched for with ease from the information on the conference or the like, whereas it is difficult for the system user to remember the information on the conferences, when the user attended several conferences. There is the problem that the personal information cannot be searched for, if the memory of the conference is faded.